OCTOBER is “National Window Covering Safety Month”. This nationwide campaign, by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Window Covering Safety Council, alerts consumers to the potential hazards of window cords. The push is on to use only CORDLESS window treatments for child-friendly homes.

The Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) has the following tips to ensure that your child’s room is a SAFE room:

NEVER place a crib, playpen, bed, or low-standing furniture near a window. Young Children can fall through an open window or window screen.

CRIBS should be in compliance with the latest safety standards, with snug-fitting mattress and head- and footboards without decorative cut-outs or corners post extensions.

Once your child is able to push up on hands or knees, REMOVE crib toys strung across the crib or playpen to avoid strangulation hazards.

Fluffy comforters or pillows are a suffocation hazard. Keep them OUT of the crib.

Cover ALL electrical outlets.

Consider spring-loaded lid supports for toy chests: PREVENT a child playing inside from being trapped.

All child products, like powder and diaper ointment, should be kept OUT OF REACH.

We at CellularWindowShades.com take the issue of CHILD SAFETY to heart. We’ve children and grandchildren of our own to safeguard!

So we’ve introduced a new “page” on aspects to consider when outfitting a child’s room — and don’t forget that children roam, climb and play! Every room in your home should consider similar directives:

If a cordless shade is not possible for your application (ie, size or fabric restrictions), remember the following tips:

“Lock” cords — give cords a tug to engage the clutch – whenever shades have been lowered, including when they come to rest on a windowsill.

Make sure Tassel Ends (on Standard Cord Lock and Top Down Bottom Up shades) are always out of reach, whether the window treatment is raised or lowered. (Watch our YouTube video on Tassel Ends.)

The Breakthrough Cord Connector (also called Equalizer Box) snaps open when pressure is applied to the cord loop should a child become entangled. This exclusive Comfortex component adds an extra measure of protection by coming apart in an emergency.

Wrap the pull cord around a cord cleat which is securely mounted to the wall whenever the shade is not being raised or lowered.

Install and use the Child Safety Cord Tensioner supplied with all Continuous Cord Loop shades; inside or outside mounts are possible.

Many people are interested in cordless shades, especially after recent concerns over child and pet safety. Be advised, however, of the steps you can take to keep cords out of reach: with cord cleats, velcro dots, cord guides. We take child-safety seriously at CellularWindowShades!

We also take our Production standards to stringent margins — and we found the combination of double cell blackout fabric (often desired in bedroom settings) with the Cordless did not function, over time, as well as we could have hoped. Therefore, in the spring the decision was taken to remove the double cell blackout fabric as an option for Cordless shades.

Q: So what is your option for the room-darkening effects of a blackout combined with the ease of the Cordless shade?

A: Single cell blackout fabric from the 1/2-inch, or Virtuoso line. This combination gives you the best product for ease of operation.

We also have available — at a terrific 30% off! — the 3/8-inch single cell “Fanfare” line. Please note that these fabrics are only available with the Standard Cord Lock or the Top Down Bottom Up operating features.

When in doubt: the Light Filtering double-cell fabric works for all the different lifting methods: Standard Cord Lock; Top Down Bottom Up; Continuous Cord Loop (the “Smoothy”); Cordless; as well as Motorized.